


All She's Ever Wanted

by MatildaSwan



Series: when worlds collide in parallel times [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Eleanor Stewart, Established Relationship, F/F, Post-Episode: s07e04 The Power of Three
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-09 15:56:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10415697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MatildaSwan/pseuds/MatildaSwan
Summary: Despite the colossal headache that is the the first day of the slow invasion, Kate still manages to make it home in time for dinner.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spilled_notes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spilled_notes/gifts).



> I had a tag!rant about Kate's face and @spilled_notes asked me to fic so I did :))) Also shout out to Nicola for beta-ing :)
> 
> For continuity, this is set in an au!verse (fic is currently in the works) where Serena always has been an out and proud sapphic. Her and Kate been together for like, 20 years, and have two children.

It is well into the evening by the time the phone stops ringing and Kate manages to crawl out from under the mountain of paperwork generated by the events of that day. She makes sure Osgood has already left for home before she actually leaves the Tower and drives home feeling drained and tired. 

Classic fm hums through the car as she stops at a light and she remembers what happened that day. Feels a smile tug at the corner of her mouth as the light turns green. Kate keeps remembering that day and keeps smiling. Her cheeks ache as she turns into her street. 

She pulls up in the drive, still fizzing with nervous excitement and climbs out of the car. Stifles a yawn as she shuffles up the front path and sets off the security light. She slides her key into the lock and the scrape of metal on metal seems especially grating in the quiet night air. 

The hallway is bright, brighter still with the porch light streaming in behind her. Kate can hear faint rustling from the kitchen and the soft buzz of the television in the living room. Everything seems louder after she shuts the front door. 

“Darling?” she calls as she hangs up her coat and kicks off her shoes. “You won’t believe what happened at work today!”

She hears footsteps over carpet get closer and her wife appears in the doorframe, tomato smudge on her cheek and a red strained wooden spoon in her hand. 

“Do I ever?” Serena teases, smile bright and eyes sparkling.

Kate smiles warmly, happy to be home, and takes a few steps forward. Serena rocks forward on her toes as Kate leans down slightly and closes the distance between them. Kate hums into the kiss. 

A pan on the stove screams for their attention and they break apart. Serena turns tail and dashes back to the kitchen. Kate smiles as she follows close behind. Walks through the corner of the living room and notices that despite the television flickering, the couch is empty. She hears the thump of teenage feet on the next floor as she walks into the kitchen. 

“That’s fair I suppose,” Kate says as she settles herself on the bar stool by the kitchen bench; rests her elbows on the counter and plants her chin in her hands. “But today was something else, absolutely unbelievable,” Kate says, voice thicker with bewilderment than she expected. 

“I should hope so,” Serena snarks and Kate furrows her brow for all that Serena has to back towards her. “Dragging you out of bed at some ungodly hour on my day off.”

“Oh, I, didn’t realise I’d disturbed you.” 

Kate had been sure she got to the phone before it had a chance to wake Serena; gotten ready quiet as a church mouse as Osgood filled her in on the situation. 

“I’m sorry, it was an emergency. I tried not to wake you.” 

She hadn’t even said goodbye, thinking Serena was still asleep. Maybe that had been a mistake.

“Oh, you didn’t. Just woke up in an empty bed, is all.” 

Definitely a mistake: she should have left a note or at least thought to call.  Another apology sits at the back of Kate’s throat but Serena preempts her before she has a chance to say it. 

“Still, it can’t be that big of a deal seeing as you’re home for dinner. I’m assuming I’ve got clearance?” 

Serena keeps her eyes on the sauce and asks over her shoulder. 

“Of course.” Kate knows she ought to say more but doesn’t know what so goes for anything at all. “And I wouldn’t care if you didn’t, I’d tell you anyway. Today was…special.”

Serena leaves the spoon in the pot and turns to Kate. “Now I am intrigued, what happened?”

“I don’t really know where to start, to be honest.” Kate takes a breath and tries to organise her thoughts. Opens her mouth the answer when Eleanor walks into the kitchen.

“Is dinner almost ready? Oh, hi, Mum,” she adds when she notices Kate.

“Evening, dear. How was class?

“My History tute was boring but the chem lab was really interesting,” Eleanor replies as she opens the fridge door and stares at the shelves. “Ooh, Nutella.”

“Get out of there!” Serena rounds on her daughter, waving the spoon at her from the other side of the kitchen. “You’ll spoil your appetite.”

Eleanor huffs and slams the fridge shut. Turns and walks over to the bench. 

“Oh, Mum, have you seen these things?” she asks, pulling a cube out of her hoodie pocket. “There was one by my bed when I woke up and I found a whole bunch of them around campus, how cool are they? Everyone’s collecting them.”

Kate panics. For all they subjected the cubes to every conceivable test the entire science division could think of and found nothing untoward about them at all, she classified them hostile for a reason. Having one in the house makes her skin crawl. 

Eleanor rolls the cube around in her hands. Kate curls one fist tight and tries to keep her face calm.

“Give me that,” she requests as evenly as she can through a jaw clamped tight. Holds out her hand, palm up. “And the rest of them, if you’ve more.”

“What, why?” 

“I don’t want them in the house,” Kate says, hoping that is enough. It isn’t. Eleanor keeps looking at her like Kate owes her an explanation and Kate tries at tact: tries to be as clear as she can while skirting around the issue. “You don’t know what they are and I’d rather them not in the house.”

“It’s just some silly old cube, what’s the harm?”

“Give it to me.” Once again, Kate curses the scale of the cubes and how much of a pain in the neck they’ve been since they arrived. “Now.”

Eleanor’s face says she is clearly spoiling for a fight. Kate isn’t having a bar of it. 

“I said now, Eleanor. Don’t argue with me, just do as I ask.” 

There is no leeway in Kate’s voice and Eleanor knows better than to argue. She slams the cube down on the bench and stomps away instead, shouting over her shoulder as she goes. “God, why are you always like this?”

Kate turns in her chair to face the living room. Hears the volume on the television turn right up and opens her mouth to tell her to turn it down. Feels a hand on her elbow. 

“Don’t, Kate, just let her cool it off. Get rid of the thing, seeing as it’s gotten you in such a tizzie, then get the table ready for dinner, will you?”

Kate nods and Serena turns away; walks back to the stove to check on the garlic bread. 

Kate grabs the cube and ferries it upstairs, thinking she’ll call Osgood in the morning; that it can stay in the safe till then. She passes by the bedroom and decides pyjama pants would be a good idea; thinks to put on some slippers before heading back downstairs feeling marginally better. 

Grabs a stack of plates out of the cupboard and a handful of cutlery and slinks off towards the dining room across the hall. She thumps a bit as she sets the table, trying to get rid of the last of her nerves. Comes back to the kitchen feeling much less frazzled and finds Serena holding out a glass of wine for her and Kate stops short.

“Thank you,” she says, smile wide and adoring, and reaches out to take the wine.

Serena preens under Kate’s gaze. “I take it the cubes aren’t what’s so special about today then?”

Kate nods and presses a kiss to Serena’s cheek. “It’s a long story, I’ll tell you after dinner.”

“I look forward to it,” Serena nods as she turns back to the oven and Kate leans against the bench. 

“So how was your day?” Kate asks as Serena retrieves the garlic bread. “Calm and soothing away from the ward?”

Serena laughs, low and throaty, and shakes her head with a smile. Keeps smiling as she fills Kate in on her day and tells her exactly how relaxing it is to stomp around an empty house while the impending threat of tomorrow’s paperwork looms overhead.

Serena pauses to taste the sauce and hums in appreciation. Scoops out another spoonful and holds it out Kate; cupping her hand underneath in case of drips. 

Kate puts her wine down on the bench and steps forward and blows on the spoon before slurping. Her eyes go wide as she licks at her top lip to catch the excess. 

“Delicious.”

Serena smiles brightly and Kate leans forward to steal a kiss. 

 

*

 

Dinner is a bit of a tense affair: Eleanor slightly seething despite Kate’s apology, Kate both contrite about snapping earlier and unperturbed by Eleanor’s subtle jabs now, and Serena mediating between the two. They manage in the end, of course—they always do—after all three are gorged on food and in much better spirits. The wine doesn’t hurt either. 

Eleanor clears the table and wishes them both goodnight before retreating to her room. Serena follows her upstairs to get ready for bed while Kate stacks the dishwasher. 

Kitchen clean, Kate heads to the bedroom; walks in as Serena slips off her earrings in front of the dresser. Catches Serena’s eye in the mirror reflection and smiles. Strips off her top half and throws the t-shirt in the laundry basket and goes to the dresser to rummage for a fresh sleeping shirt.

“So what happened today?” Serena asks as she slips into bed.

“What?” Kate gets herself caught on the t-shirt collar as she tries to pull it on and only hears Serena as a mumble. 

“What was that?” She asks when she’s sorted herself out.

“What happened today?” Serena repeats, getting comfy under the blanket. 

“Well, actually, ah—” Kate put her hands in the pockets of her pyjama pants, rocking back on her heels as she remembers. Stares at her toes as she tries to collect her thoughts.

Serena looks at Kate and the barely contained excitement vibrating through her body. She isn’t sure of the last time she saw Kate so excited, if ever, and her forehead crinkles in curiosity. 

Kate sinks down flat on her feet; straightens and looks up at Serena.

“I met him today. The Doctor, the one Dad’s always talking about.”

Kate’s eye blaze and Serena’s mouth falls open. 

“You—what… _really_?”

Kate nods vigorously and practically jumps into the bed, bounces on her knees on top of the duvet.

“I actually met him” she whispers, crawling closer to the middle of the bed and Serena. 

Until this point in time Serena cannot honestly say she had many feelings about the Doctor beyond knowing the myth of the man was important to her wife because the man himself was important to her Father-in-law. But Serena has never seen Kate quite this bright before, sparkling like an overexcited child on Christmas morning, and now she is curious. So very curious she doesn’t know where to start. 

“What’s he like?” It seems a good a place as any.

“Gangly.”

That is not at all what Serena thought she’d hear 

“Gangly?”

“And young,” Kate says and tilts her head to the side, looking as confused as Serena feels. “He was wearing face of a 25 year old and bow tie. And his friend was still in his pants.”

“He, was, what?” 

“And he was wearing _tweed,_ ” Kate’s tone is incredulous and Serena cannot help smiling. Kate continues looking bewildered and Serena cannot help giggling. Titters until she calms down enough to see Kate smiling back at her fondly.

“So, just as odd as you’d hoped?”

“Better,” Kate says with force and the gleam in her eye burns brighter. Serena’s eye crinkle at the sight.

“So what’s he got to do with the cubes?” 

“Nothing, actually. Total coincidence, he was in the neighbourhood,”

Serena sees Kate’s whole demeanour change as she replies; sees the smile fade as Kate looks down to inspect the tips of her fingers curled tight in the duvet. 

“He didn’t know any more about them than we did,” Kate adds and purses her lips.

Serena reaches to put her hand over Kate’s and gives it a gentle squeeze. 

“Is that what’s got you in knots?”

Kate nods, tight lipped, and inhales deeply. Slips under the covers and settles herself before she answers. 

“We don’t know a thing about them. Ran ourselves ragged on every conceivable test Osgood and her team could think of and we’ve still got nothing.”

All of Kate’s fizzing energy from not even a minute ago is long gone now and replaced with palpable worry. The tension lines around her mouth deepen as she stares a hole in the corner of the room. 

Serena tries to shift the thickness hanging over their four-poster.

“I hope you give that woman a raise soon,” she says glibly. 

“Hmm, what?” Kate asks, drawing herself out of her own thought cycle and turning towards Serena. 

“Osgood,” she repeats lightly. “She deserves one, the hoops you make her jump through.”

“I do not make her jump through hoops!” Kate says indignant.

Serena quirks an eyebrow, because she knows altogether too well what Kate is like in a crisis. 

“What was it this time?” 

Kate’s face falls and she fiddles with the edge of the blanket.

“Ran a tank over one.”

“What?” Serena is genuinely shocked. “You didn’t?” Kate looks up with a grin. “You did! Kate, what were you thinking?”

“I was thinking ‘I wonder what would happen if we rolled a tank over this cube’.”

“Oh, honestly,” Serena huffs and folds her arms. Pointedly does not look at Kate.

“Osgood wasn’t too pleased with me either,” Kate says with a smirk. 

“I can imagine.” Still not looking at Kate.

“Even tried to talk me out of it.”

Serena thinks the idea of anyone trying to talk Kate Stewart out of anything is laughable, let alone her brilliant but painfully shy second in command. 

“Really?” Serena forgets she is ignoring Kate and turns to face her again. 

Kate nods and Serena smiles as Kate continues. 

“She got quite stern about it, actually,” Kate adds, voice tinged with a hint of disbelief. 

Stern is not a word Serena thought she would ever hear in relation to Osgood and the thought distracts her enough to almost miss the rest of Kate’s sentence.

“Truth be told, I almost considered reconsidering.”

An image pops into Serena mind: Osgood managing to not only pull off a stern face behind those giant glasses but doing it so well that Kate actually listens. Serena smiles at the thought.

“Almost, that is. I mean, we still went ahead with it in the end.”

Serena imagines the look on Kate’s face as she railroads past Osgood’s sensible suggestion and gives the order to run a giant tank over a tiny cube and justifies it under the guise of thorough scientific practices. She laughs, low and loud. Keeps laughing as Kate looks at her and laughs at Serena laughing at her.

Kate looks at her wife, gleam in her eyes and the crinkle in her cheeks, and stop laughing. Smiles wide and leans forward to swallows her giggles with a kiss. 

Serena moans, caught off guard, before kissing her back. Reaches up to bury her fingers in Kate’s hair and pull her closer. Pulls Kate over and on top of her, underneath the covers. Sides her tongue over Kate’s as fingers glide over the curve of a hip and they both melt into the mattress.

 


End file.
